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Canaan (Person)
This article is about the person. You may be looking for . Canaan, son of , was the progenitor of the inhabitants of the land that would take his name. Listed fourth among the sons of Ham, he would be cursed by Noah, his grandfather, when the patriarch lashed out at his father. Not much is known personally concerning the man Canaan, aside from his being a prolific patriarch of a great number of people. His descendants would be blessed with the lands west of the , the very lands that would be promised to Abraham many years later. These descendants would stray so far from the faith of that they would be threatened with extinction when Abraham's descendants returned from captivity in . However, their family ties in the times they had control of the land included Abraham's great grandsons. Though they were not destroyed, they were to become subject to the descendants of , just as Noah had predicted. Etymology The word Canaan Kena`an mean "lowlands," from a root meaning "to be low, to be made low, as in to be humbled." That Ham would name his son this reflects one of two things. He may have moved into a plain below Ararat, separate from his brothers, and liked the land well enough to name one of his sons after it. The other reason may be after the fact that Noah had called Ham the pejorative "Canaan" -- meaning someone who was lower than oneself. History Canaan was born a few years after the Great Flood, the son of Ham, and grandson of Noah. Times were tough as his father and uncles worked to rebuild in a fertile, but empty earth. In time, though, vineyards brought grapes and their juice. This juice, once processed, became wine, with its danger toward intoxication. Canaan was probably a young lad, assuming his grandfather was speaking about him, and not prophesying his existence, when Noah fell under the influence of the wine he drank. Canaan's father had made fun of Noah, and when the older man had sobered up, he learned about it. When it came time for blessings, Ham received a warning: the family of his son Canaan, the Low, would be servants in the houses of their relatives, the Semites. Like his cousins, Canaan probably lived a long life, seeing the rise of the cities built by Asshur and Nimrod. He may have been there when the tower lay unfinished and the people scattered in all directions. His son Sidon would build a city on the coast of the Great Sea to the west, while another son, Heth, would be the progenitor one of the greatest early empires of ancient times: the Hittites. But most of all, Canaan would be known for the land that was to be possessed by at least nine tribes descended from him. Legacy The land of Canaan stands as the legacy of this cursed son of Ham. The ancient city of Sidon would be there, and the Hittites would rule over it for centuries. At least nine tribes would rise up and claim parts of the fertile Jordan Valley far before Abraham walked through it. The Canaanites would both be a blessing and a curse to the sons of Abraham. He would avoid them when he could, work with them when he had to, but he refused to have his son Isaac marry a daughter of that land. His grandson would also avoid taking a wife from there. However, by the time Jacob's sons were grown, they were looking to the cities among the surrounding tribes for brides. Two Canaanite women, Tamar and Rahab, would be progenitors of the Davidic dynasty (and thus the Messiah). The land would finally be subdued during the days of Joshua. However, weaknesses in the plan to take the land led to Canaanites continuing to live there. After the rise of the nation of Israel, and later Judah, the Israelites would finally see the prophecy against Canaan fulfilled.